It’s one of our favourite events each year: YVR Stars! The event honours the worker and volunteers who go the extra kilometre to deliver exceptional customer care at YVR. The night is both a thank-you to the more than 500 people who are nominated throughout the year as YVR Stars, and an awards show that acknowledges the top customer care stories of the year.

This year’s award winners included Securiguard and Canadian Border Service Guards employees who teamed up to help a stranded family in distress; a Dexterra customer service employee who aided an injured passenger; another Dexterra employee who helped locate and aid a travelling couple with dementia; and G4S worker who, on his own personal time, showed compassion by going out of his way to help a visitor navigate the Skytrain system.

It’s always inspiring for us to hear these stories and it feels great to be part of honouring these dedicated employees.

Elettra is responsible for event management of the YVR Stars gala, but we couldn’t do it without our amazing event suppliers and partners, SW Audiovisual, Butler Did It Catering, Simon Cooksley Event Design, DJ Jay, Kim Bellavance Photographe, and Earnest Ice Cream.

A huge thank you also to our wonderful clients - the YVR Customer Relations team - it’s both an honour and a privilege to work with you folks on this event each year.

Vancouver-based mobile game developer, Kabam, today announced the next phase of its growth with the long-term lease of 105,000 square feet across seven floors at Vancouver Centre II (VCII). The project, which is being developed by GWL Realty Advisors, has a targeted completion date of 2021. VCII will be the first office tower completed in the current cycle of downtown office development.

Kabam is excited to collocate into one unified, agile work environment. The company thinks the amenities are fantastic, and they know their four-legged team members will be excited to have a special place to enjoy as well. 

“Kabam is exactly the kind of forward-thinking, industry-leading firm we had in mind when we designed VCII,” says Geoff Heu, Vice President, Development – Western Canada, GWL Realty Advisors. “With VCII’s premier location in the downtown tech hub and its direct connection to two transit lines, it’s not surprising the building is already one-third leased before excavation is even complete. With the current exceptionally low office vacancy rate of 3.9 per cent, we are confident that VCII will be fully leased prior to completion.”

Founded in 2006, Kabam has become a global leader in multi-player mobile games with blockbuster releases such as Marvel Contest of Champions,which has had more than 168 million downloads worldwide since 2014. With over 400 employees across its Vancouver, San Francisco and Austin offices, Kabam sees Vancouver as a key part of its long-term expansion plans. 

 As VCII’s lead tenant, Kabam will have access to first-class amenities, including the 29th Floor Skyline Rooftop Deck; a state-of-the-art fitness facility and yoga studio; end-of-trip cycling facilities; and dog-friendly facilities. The project is targeting LEED Platinum certification and is registered with the International WELL Building Institute™. VCII’s Wired Certificationwill ensure it has thedigital infrastructure to addresses the advanced technology needs of today and the capacity to upgrade to meet future needs.

 Kabam’s quest for a new location was driven by its long-term growth plans. After partnering with Colliers International to determine key criteria, it became evident that Kabam’s property search should be driven by the needs of current and future employees. Following a comprehensive review of available properties, Kabam found that VCII checked more boxes than any other offering and met the most important criteria for supporting Kabam’s team and their long-term growth for years to come. 

Today, Elettra helped its client, GWL Realty Advisors, celebrate the completion of a deal for Amazon’s new Metro Vancouver Fulfillment Facility. It was a great event with a great turnout. Thank you to Tsawwassen First Nation for the warm welcome.

The Board of Governors of Emily Carr University of Art + Design today named Dr. Gillian Siddall as the University’s next President and Vice-Chancellor. 

“I am delighted to announce Dr. Gillian Siddall as ECU’s new President and Vice-Chancellor,” said Kim Peacock, Chair, ECU Board of Governors. “As the University begins writing the next chapter of its story, Dr. Siddall has the qualities, experience and track record to harness the best ideas from the ECU community and the leadership experience to put them into action.”

The appointment marks the culmination of a year-long search by ECU’s Presidential Search Committee, guided by the international recruitment firm Caldwell Partners. The 14-member Search Committee comprised representatives from across the University, and included students, faculty, staff, alumni and a member of the Indigenous community at ECU.

“I am thrilled at the prospect of being the President and Vice-Chancellor,” Dr. Siddall said. “I welcome the opportunity to work collaboratively with the people of ECU to help advance the priorities that they’ve already identified around decolonization; trans-disciplinary learning, research, and creative practice; social justice; and innovation. There are a lot of exciting things happening at Emily Carr, and it will be wonderful to be part of that.”

Dr. Siddall holds an Honours BA and MA in English from the University of Guelph and a PhD in English from the University of Western Ontario. She began her career as a sessional lecturer at the University of Guelph, before accepting a tenure-track appointment at Lakehead University in 1998. There she went on to become the founding Director of the teaching and learning centre, and then Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities. Her research area is Canadian literature, and she has published extensively on the subject of musical improvisation, both within and outside a literary context. 

She most recently served as Vice-President Academic and Provost at the Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCAD U) where she led the academic planning process. This experience, along with her personal connection to the arts as a jazz vocalist and choral singer, make her well-suited to understand the specialized nature of art and design education. She is an advocate of Indigenization and decolonization within the university sector, and co-led the Provost’s Taskforce on Indigenous Learning at OCAD U with Professor Bonnie Devine.

Dr. Siddall succeeds Dr. Ron Burnett, who has served as ECU’s President since 1996. Dr. Burnett will be stepping down from the position on July 31, 2018. Dr. Siddall’s term commences September 1, 2018. 

Michael Clifford, VP, Finance + Administration, and Bonne Zabolotney, VP Academic + Provost, have agreed to serve as co-Interim Presidents from August 1 until Dr. Siddall’s arrival.